This article explores an overlooked aspect of the 'resilience of pastoralism' in crises through an ethnographic case study of a series of conflicts between the Samburu and the Pokot in Kenya that erupted in 2004. Emery Roe's concepts of reliability professionals and real-time management
of pastoralists are utilised as theoretical frameworks for this study. It was observed that the 'logic of high input variance matched by high process variance to ensure low and stable output variance' occurred through the formation of clustered settlements and an inter-ethnic mobile phone
network. This case illustrates how pastoralists endured the conflict as reliability professionals.
The chapter addresses the issue of analyzing and mapping mobility practices by using different kinds of mobile phone network data that provide geo-located information on mobile phone activity at a high spatial and temporal resolution. The authors present and discuss major findings and drawbacks based on an application carried out on the Milan urban region (Lombardy, Northern Italy) and suggest possible implications for policies.
Discovering Regularity Patterns of Mobility Practices Through Mobile Phone Data
